Apparatus for handling fence-wire



W. H. CONAWAY.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING FENCE WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1919.

Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEE1 l- W. H. CONAWAY.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING FENCE WIRE.

APPLICATION FILED IIIAII. 31. l9l9.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

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W. H. CONAWAY.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING FENCE WIRE.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR- 31. 1919.

Patented .Ja'n. 6, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

1.9 49 Y IE5 reel.

UNITED srA'rns ra rnnr curios.

WILLIAM E. conawar, or wrcm'rn, Kansas.

Arrmarus FOR nannrme ration-wrap.

eashes.

Application filedfiarch 81, 1919. Serial No. 286,335.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, Wnmm H. Cona- WAY, a citizen of the United States, res ding at Wichita, in the county of Sedgwmlr and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Handling FenceWire, of which the followin is a specification,

y present invention has to do with apparatus for handling fence w re; and 1t has for one of its objects to provlde an apparatus of the character stated, adapted to "be readily convertel from a fence wire handling apparatus into a hand truck and vice versa.

' Another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for'handhng fence wire embodying such a'construct1on an d relative arrangement of parts that t is adapted to be used to advantage ln unwindin or letting ofi' wire, m stretching wire and in reeling or winding the wire upon a Other objects and practical advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims, when the same are read in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forming part of this specificat1on,-1n whlehz Figure 1 is a eneral view lllustratlng the manner in whic my, apparatus 1s used to unwind or let ofi wire. V

Fig. 2 is a general view showing the use of. the apparatus as a wire stretcher.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the apparatus positioned for use as a wire winder or reeling apparatus.

Fig. 4: 1s a view showing the'apparatus as it appears when converted into a hand truck.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vlew showing the removable transverse spindle of the apparatus and the parts carried thereon.

Fig. 6 is a detail View illustratin the brake complementary to the said spmd e Fig. I? is an enlarged transverse sectlon,

taken in the plane indicated by the line 77 of Fig. 4 and'showing the bearings for the transverse spindle.-

Fig. 8 is a view .Of the reel, removed from the spindle. I I

Fig. 9 is a detail sectlon on lme 9-9 of Fi 7.

gimilar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings.

The main frame of my novel apparatus 1s Specification at Letters Patent.

' trated, whereby major portion of the bar and Patented Jane, 1920.

made up of side em 1, whichv terminate at their rear ends in handles 2, cross-bars 3, per-' manently side bars, and ancli ward terminals of t fixed between and connecting the rs 4, which form the fore slde bars, and are disposed at about the ahgle illustrated to said sidebars, and are connected together by a cross-bar 5. The said anchors an are provided with heels 6, as .illuse foot pressure may be con veniently applied same into the round when the positioned as s own in Figs. 2 and 3. When the apparatus is converted into a truck the said spikes, together with their cross-bar 5, form the usual guard at the forward end of the truck frame. At 8 the frame is equipped with ground Wheels for usewhen the apparatus is employed as a truck and also for use when it is employed to let 0% wire as shown in Fig. 1. It will also be noticed that the rear cross-bar 3 of the frame terminates in legs 9, disposed at right angles to the adapted to serve as truck legs or rests. I

Pivotally mount on the, rear cross-bar of the frame are brace bars 10. These brace bars 10 respectively comprise an inner tubular section 11, having a collar 12 at its free end, an outer pointed member 13 telescopically arranged in the tubular member,

and a set screw 14; hearing in the collar 12 and adapted to adjust'ably fix the member 13 with respect to the member 11. Manifestly, by reason of their pivotal mounting on the rear cross-bar 3 of the frame, the brace bars 10 are adapted to be employed as shown in Fig. 2, or as shown in Fig. 3, and are also adapted upon the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1,. or when the apparatus is converted into are pointed,

to. the spikes to drive the apparatus is a truck, to lay idly on the cross-bars of the frame where they will be entirely out of the way;

' Onthe lefthand sidebar of the frame is an enlargement 15, fixed to said side bar and having a bearing seat 16. A shackle 1'? is hinged at one end to said enlargement 15 and has its free portion removably disposed in a slot 18 in the enlargement l5, and also has its free portion threaded for. the engagement of a nut 19. On the opposite side bar 1 of the frame is a cruciformed bearing member 20, loosely mounted on the side bar and retained in position by cotuers 21 or other suitable means. The transverse portion of the bearing member 20 is ad .pted to receive -oneend portion i of a spindle 22, the other. end ortion of which is disposed in the seat of t e bearing member and under the shackle complementary thereto. By virtue of this provision, when 'the shackle is unfastened and swung upwardly the 'end of the spindle adjacent to the bearing member15 may be readily swung upwardly for the placing of a reel 23 on the spindle or the removal of the reel from the spindle. The spindle 22 is provided at 24 with a lefthand threaded portion of comparatively large diameter, and at the outer end of the portion 24, is an abutment 25, which merges into a brake disk 26. At the outer side of a the disk 26 a spindle is provided with a journal portion 27, and at the outer end of said journal portion, which is adapted to turn in the bearing member 20, the spindle is provided with a portion 28, of angular form and cross section, and a threaded terminal 29. At 30 is a removable clamping disk detachably secured by a cotter 31 on the spindle 22, a complementary clamping disk 32 is loose on the spindle and disposed against the inner end of the threaded portion 24; A lefthand threaded nut 35 having a handle 36 is mounted upon the threaded portion 24 of the spindle and is adapted to crowd the disk 32 inwardly with a view to clamping and holding the reel 23 between the disks 30 and 32. By virtue of the lefthand threads on the spindle portion 24 and -in the nut 35, any tendency of the reel to turn on the spindle 22 when the apparatus is used in. the manner shown-in Fig. 2 will have the efi'ect of tightening the clamping of the wheel between the disks 30 and 32.

In order that the user of my novel apparatus may retard the rotation of the reel 23 when the apparatus is used after the manner shown in Fig. Ll provide the brake mechanism shown. The said brake mechanism comprises a In 40 carried by the frame adjacent to the rig thand handle 2, a pivoted hand lever 41 adapted to enga e the lug 40 and he adjustably fixed there y, and a rod 42 terminatin 'at its forward end in a brake band 43, t at'surrounds and is opposed to the erimeter of the disk on the spindle.

Manifestly, by manipulating the lever 41 v the spindle 22 is a crank 50 to w the operator is enabled to exert great pressure on and adequately brake the disk and the spindle 22, and by placing the lever 41 in engagement with the lug 40 the operator is enab ed to retain the spindle 22 in a braked. state.

Removably secured on the an lar end of ich is fixed a ratchet 51. A pawl 52 is pivoted to one side bar on the main frame in position to engage said ratchet with a view to precluding retrograde rotation of the crank, the indle and'the reel, and so as to retain the wire that is being stretched under tension.

In order to properly guide the wire that is from the foregoing descri tion. I would ,say, however, that when t e apparatus is stretched, I provlde a sheave 60, carbent holder 61, which is shaped toused to let off wire, as shown in Fig. 1, it is a simply necessary for the operator to grasp one of the handles and draw the apparatus after him over the ground. When the apparatus is used as shown in Fig. 2, the op-' erator, by manipulating the crank, is en abled to exert a strong and steady pull upon the wire without liabilit of the wire bemg permitted to slip in the irection away from the apparatus. When the apparatus is used as shown in Fi 3, turning ofthe spindle and the reel wil be. attended by taking up of the wire on the reel in a neat and compact manner. When it is desired to convert the apparatus into a truck, it is simply necessary to remove the reel and the spindle, together with the appurtenances of the latter from the main frame, and from this it follows that the apparatus may be as readily converted from a truck into a fence wire handling ap- I and described constitutesthe best practical embodiment or my invention of which I am cog it do not desire, however, to be specific construction, inasmuch as in the future practice of the invention changes in the form and arrangement of the parts may be made without involving departure from the scope of my invention as the same is defined by my appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

.' 1. In a convertible hand truck and fencewire handling apparatus, the combination of a frame, having side bars with combined anchors and guards at the forward ends thereof and handlesat the rear ends; the said com bined anchors and guards having heels at their inner ends disposed at an angle to the understood as confining myself to the said meanest side bars, wheels carried at the forward portion of the frame, and means on the side bars of the frame for the connection thereto of a reel and reel appurtenances.

2. In means for the purpose described, a frame having side bars connected together and terminating at their rear ends in handles and at their forward ends in combined anchors and guards; the said anchors and guards being tapered toward their free ends, and being provided with heels disposed at an angle to the side bars, and wheels carried at the forward portion of the frame.

3. In means for the purpose described, the combination of a frame having connected side bars terminating at their rear ends in handles, and at their forward ends in combined anchors and guards; the said anchors and guards having heels at their rear ends disposed at an angle to the frame, wheels carried at the forward portion of the frame, a cross-bar interposed between the rear portions of the side bars of the frame, and braces comprising tubular members pivoted on said cross-bar, outer members telescopically arranged in the tubular members, and adjustable means for adjustably fixing the outer members with respect to the inner members.

4. In means for the purpose described, the combination of a frame having side bars, a cruciformed bearing member loose] mount ed upon one of the side bars and aving a transverse journal bearing, means for re- ,taining said bearing member against endwise movement on the side bar, a bearing member carried by the other side bar and having a detachable spindle-retaining shackle, and a spindle journaled in said bearin members and equipped with a detachab y connected disk, and a loose op osed disk; said'spindle being provided with a lefthand threaded portion at the outer side of the loose disk, a nut equipped with a handie and provided with a lefthand thread and mounted on said threaded portion of the spindle, a crank removably arran ed on the spindle and provided with a rate at, and a pawl pivoted on the adjacent frame bar and en aging said ratchet.

l n testimony whereof I have afixed. my signature. 

